Thornridge Overhauls Suspensions

September 09, 1991|By Susan DeGrane.

Last year, unruly students at Thornridge High School in Dolton were suspended and thrown off the campus. This year they will stay in school.

``We`ve found that external suspensions were not effective and were not working,`` said Fred Murino, a dean at Thornridge who has helped develop a pilot program for Thornton Township High School District 205.

``Many students viewed the suspension as a reward, not a punishment.``

Under the limited pilot program, students formerly eligible for 3- to 10- day off-campus suspensions for chronic absenteeism, tardiness and other behavior problems will be kept in school but separated from their classmates in something called the CARE unit, an acronym for Corrective and Responsible Education.

A major problem with the old suspension system, according to school officials, is that suspended students were not expected to complete their class work, which often put them so far behind that they couldn`t catch up.

``This exacerbated an antagonistic relationship between the student and the teacher, and set the student up for failure,`` said Paul Zakula, a Thornridge physical education instructor who also helped develop the program. In the CARE unit, students will be assigned to study carrels where they will complete classwork, for which they will receive credit. They also must complete a work packet that provides them with examples of behaviors that are considered appropriate and how to deal with situations that might have gotten them into trouble.

Students also will receive stress management training and even undertake role-playing exercises for appropriate behaviors.

The unit will be staffed by a teacher and a paraprofessional who will oversee students` work and attempt to determine if individuals might benefit from seeing counselors or social workers. A reading specialist also will work regularly with students in the unit.